LACONIA, N.H. (AP) – Gray skies, aging fans and high gas prices are some of the factors behind organizers’ modest expectations for Laconia Bike Week this year.

The 84th annual Bike Week kicked of this weekend in Laconia, where Weirs Beach is the center of all things motorcycle-related in New Hampshire for the next week. But even as the roads filled with squads of rumbling Harleys, Bike Week director Charlie St. Clair said he expected a good – but not great – turnout for the spring ritual.

“With the economy the way it is and gas prices so high, there’s no way we’re going to set any record this year, even if the sun shines for the rest of the week,” he said.

St. Clair said Bike Week attendance has dropped by one-third since 2004, when 425,000 people attended. He expected that figure to stay level in 2007, but noted that even with flat attendance, Bike Week still pumps $140 million a year into New Hampshire.

He and others said they already are looking forward to a better turnout next year, when Bike Week celebrates its 85th birthday.

“I think this is going to be one of those average years and that in the future you won’t see a big spike in attendance until every fifth year, one that ends in five or a zero,” St. Clair said. “We’re already looking forward to next year, which will be the 85th anniversary.”

Bikers are changing and so are Bike Week merchants, St. Clair and others said. St. Clair said many vendors have abandoned expensive rental spaces at Weirs Beach for cheaper business opportunities, and bikers also are branching off, heading to spots across the Lakes Region and even the North Country.

Age also is a factor – the baby boomers who make up the majority of Bike Week fans are less willing to travel long distances and younger bikers are more interested in newer events in Texas and Arizona, said Mark Creswell, a Florida bike enthusiast who works with Bike Week vendors.

St. Clair agrees that newer rallies are competing with Laconia but said he sees plenty of young bikers drawn to Bike Week.

Al Solomon of Alton, said he’s been attending Bike Week for years and is still enjoying himself. He said he’s not a big fan of attempts to make Bike Week more family friendly to attract bigger crowds.

“Make no mistake about it: the partying is still going on, and that’s what I come here for,” he said.